An industry placement program designed to connect South Australian graduates with small to medium-sized enterprises and startups specialising in space, cybersecurity and other high-tech industries is set to begin after 18 months of delay.
With the state government looking to build on recent momentum in the economy, the program aims to attract and retain young people aged 20-39, a demographic that has not grown in the state since the mid-1980’s despite an increase in the overall population.
According to data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, South Australia has the oldest population in the country after Tasmania and New South Wales, accounting for 19 per cent of people aged 65 and over.
The program – part of the SA Magnet State Program, which is itself based on KPMG’s Magnet Cities principles – was initially flagged 18 months ago to “to connect young South Australians with the ability to work for leading local and global companies from right here in SA”.
But it languished until a request for tender last week calling for an external provider to assist with the creation of the program and assess, select, and place an initial cohort of graduates in South Australian SMEs.
According to tender documents, the program will be an “integrated government, business and university sector initiative to create opportunities for young global talent to gain paid industry experience” in SMEs and startups.
“The program will focus on the SME market in South Australia in the following sectors: hi-tech, energy, space and cyber. The program will work with SMEs and startups that currently do not have an annual graduate program intake,” the Department of Premier and Cabinet said.
The department is planning to pilot the program with an initial cohort of between 20 and 50 graduates from August but expects “graduate participant numbers to be significant scaled up” if it proves successful.
Graduates will rotate to a new organisation “across various industry sectors” every six months, for a total of three placements over the 18-month pilot program, providing graduates with “a unique skillset of experiences and knowledge of the emerging industries in South Australia”.
“The program will offer participants additional opportunities such as: industry-specific training, professional development, mentoring a networking opportunities,” the department said, adding that it designed for graduates with an Australia Qualifications Framework level five Diploma and above.
A panel of local businesses will be established in order to place graduates on a six-month basis, with those “which may not have access to the same resources as other larger business enterprises” to be prioritised.
Last year, South Australia’s population grew by 1.4 per cent to 1.83 million — the second-biggest increase on record. Of the more than 25,000 people to call the state home in 2022, around 19,500 moved from overseas.
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